On The Outside Looking In
by nemesis1807
Summary: The Outsider reflects on the human race and how unpredictable they can be. That's what makes them interesting, after all.


The Outsider. It's the title they gave me, so fond are they of labeling things. Humans fear the unknown, so they attempt to define it with names. It's a more original title than what other civilizations have called me, I suppose. I have accepted the name, even taking to calling myself that. Not to mention it is quite accurate.

I am an outsider. I always have been and most likely always will be. I exist on an entirely different plane of existence than the humans in their mortal realm. I can't fully understand them as they will never truly understand me.

Humans, the sheer diversity of the species amazes. Weak, strong, cautious, rash, intelligent, stupid, coward, courageous, meek, bold… So many different qualities, all haphazardly thrown together in infinite combinations.

They are all so different, yet at the same time, they are all the same.

I have been watching for generations beyond counting. One would think that after all that time there would be nothing more they could do that would be of interest to me. While it is true that there were long, dull periods where boredom encompassed my entire existence, it's always just a matter of time before something interesting comes along. If not, I help move things along with a few nudges.

Most of the time, however, it is the events I had no intention of starting that are the best and most interesting. And when the ball starts rolling, getting bigger and bigger as time goes on, the effects far reaching and long lasting, well those are just marvelous.

Take the Overseers, for instance. A whole order dedicated to loathing me. It was quite the change from the society that once worshipped me as a god. Very… unexpected, which made them interesting. Nothing like this had ever happened before, this outright hatred. It was a novel experience and it was quite amusing to watch them scurry about, trying to fight something they could barely comprehend.

At first I thought this to be just a power grab. Nothing makes people more easily influenced than religious fervor. But, surprisingly, they actually _believed_ I was the root of all evil and needed to be destroyed. The wealth and power was just a bonus.

I've never been able to learn just where this anger originated, but that just makes it all the better. There are so few things I don't know. I did a little experiment once not long after the order's creation, just to see how deeply their hatred ran. I picked the most dedicated and loyal of the Overseers, and marked him.

This was one of the few times I marked someone I knew would never be able to accept it. Not out of any guilt or some such nonsense, but because they are far less likely to do anything with it. They would just hide it and pretend nothing had happened. In fact, I don't mark all that many people in general. That would suck the fun out of the whole thing. In a world where true magical power is scarce, throwing just a little bit in can have drastic effects, which is how I like to keep it. But I was curious, which to an immortal being such as me, is the best feeling imaginable.

I thought that this would result in one of three possible outcomes. The first was that he would run, flee the order before they learned what he was. Self-preservation usually trumps any sort of personal beliefs. The second was that he would remain in the order, keeping the mark hidden and deny its existence, especially to himself. The third was that he would have a panic attack, tell his superiors what had happened and let them come up with the solution. Humans, always fighting each other for power but when something difficult comes up, they want others to be the ones making the decisions.

But he didn't do any of these. As soon as he saw the black insignia, he promptly drew his sword and lopped off his own hand. Unexpected. Then he stared at the dismembered limb for a moment, muttered something about the spread of corruption then impaled himself.

Interesting.

Humans, I always think I know how you will react. Usually I'm right. But on the few occasions when I'm wrong… Humans tend to get very defensive when they are proven wrong, but I love it. That's the problem when you can see all the possible tomorrows. You are so very rarely surprised.

But the fact I am ever surprised at all, no matter how infrequently, is a testament to just how strange the human race is. So full of contradictions…

Like what happened in Dunwall. To prove he didn't assassinate the Empress, Corvo went and assassinated a bunch of other people. He showed mercy where he could, but a trail of corpses where left in his wake. Yet somehow, this plan worked. He was cleared of all charges and reinstated as Lord Protector, all those dead guardsmen and Overseers apparently forgotten about.

Not that I have any problem with that. Corvo was far too interesting to be stuck languishing in a cell or chased to the outskirts of civilization. He made a habit of doing the opposite of what I expected him to do.

I once saw him go to great lengths to sneak past one lone guard, then charge knowingly into a room filled with them with no thought towards stealth. He had Daud, the man responsible for killing his beloved Empress, unconscious at his feet yet let him live. He wore a mask to keep his identity secret, yet boldly signed his name in the Boyle's guest book. He infected many of the Bottle Street gang at the direction of Granny Rags, yet refused to kill the gang's leader.

Most oddities in human behavior I can attribute to some 'moral code', but if the same holds for Corvo, I haven't the faintest idea just what kind of code this is. Is that because he is just that unusual, or can I not understand simply because I am not human?

In the end, I suppose it doesn't matter. I am still an outsider. The Outsider. And not fully understanding the humans makes them so much more interesting to watch.


End file.
